Justice Ministry: European Prosecutor from Bulgaria reports pressure, threats from Prosecutor’s Office, Peevski

Teodora Georgieva, a European Prosecutor from Bulgaria, has reported to the Ministry of Justice “pressure, threats and undermining of the authority of the European Prosecutor’s Office by senior representatives of the Prosecutor’s Office of the Republic of Bulgaria and a political leader sanctioned for corruption by the US and United Kingdom,” the ministry said on March 6.

The statement did not name the sanctioned individual, but the only leader of a political party in Bulgaria who is subject to US and UK sanctions is Delyan Peevski, leader of the Movement for Rights and Freedoms – New Beginning.

The Ministry of Justice said that the document sets out very detailed facts about the events and the behaviour of high-ranking officials from various institutions surrounding the investigations of high public interest conducted in recent years by the Bulgarian office of the European Public Prosecutor’s Office, including those related to the project to expand the gas storage facility in the village of Chiren, a critical site for national and European security, as well as the disciplinary proceedings conducted against Georgieva by the European Public Prosecutor’s Office.

The ministry said that the report makes a direct connection between Georgieva’s actions as prosecutor in the Chiren case, aimed at prosecuting a person holding a high public office, and the anonymous dissemination in March 2025 of secret video recordings of Georgieva’s meeting in 2020 with Petyo Petrov, who was exposed as the alleged leader of the criminal network for criminal influence in the justice system, the “Eight Dwarfs”.

According to the document, Georgieva was taken to the restaurant Eight Dwarfs restaurant and introduced to Petyo Petrov by a named high-ranking prosecutor in the Bulgarian Prosecutor’s Office, with whom Georgieva had close collegial and friendly relations.

According to Georgieva, the published secret video recordings are part of material evidence collected in the course of the prosecutor’s investigations, which began in 2023 during the publicly known confrontation between the now-former Prosecutor General Ivan Geshev and Borislav Sarafov, who currently holds the office of acting Prosecutor General.

It is alleged that the recordings were manipulated and removed from the overall context of the meeting in order to allow for speculation and suggestions, while at the same time not to incriminate the other high-ranking magistrate present at the meeting, who remained hidden, the Justice Ministry said.

It is also alleged that the recordings were sent to the media by officials working in the Bulgarian Prosecutor’s Office.

The report says that a named high-ranking prosecutor in the Prosecutor’s Office of the Republic of Bulgaria committed an intentional official offecse by spreading, in April 2025, at a meeting with official delegates from the European Public Prosecutor’s Office in the course of the disciplinary proceedings against Georgieva, information that, according to the report’s information, was false, that the Bulgarian Prosecutor’s Office had evidence of bribes received by her.

Documentary evidence is available for the meeting held and the content of the conversation, the ministry said.

It is not known whether criminal charges have been lodged against Georgieva based on evidence of corruption that the Bulgarian prosecutor’s office has, the statement said.

The alert also sets out specific data about threats made against Georgieva, including on the territory of another European Union member state, as well as concerns about her security.

In response to the report by Georgieva, the Minister of Justice took and is taking institutional actions within his competence and referral to relevant authorities, the ministry said.

The Justice Ministry is forwarding the report to the Minister of Interior with the aim of the Ministry of Interior, through its structures, to provide immediate and adequate protection to the whistleblower, given the nature of the extremely sensitive information shared in the report, as well as to verify within their powers the alleged threats and pressure;

The Justice M|inistry has notified the Personal Data Protection Commission in order to ensure the protection of the whistleblower pursuant to EU law.

The ministry is forwarding Georgieva’s report to the competent authority under the special investigation mechanism of the Prosecutor General and the Prosecutor General’s deputies.

It is referring to the competent prosecutor’s office of an EU Member State about specific threats allegedly received by the whistleblower on its territory;

The ministry is requesting an urgent meeting of the Minister of Justice and the Minister of Interior with the leadership of the European Public Prosecutor’s Office in order to provide information from the European Public Prosecutor’s Office to the Bulgarian authorities on the basis of EU regulations establishing enhanced cooperation on the establishment of the European Public Prosecutor’s Office;

It is requesting an urgent meeting of the Minister of Justice and the Minister of Interior with the European Commissioner for Justice.

Information is being collected regarding the circumstances set forth in the report with a view to assessing possible disciplinary liability by magistrates.

“Information about the report is made public with the express consent of the sender in order to guarantee the independence of magistrates, transparency in examining allegations of institutional pressure and for the purpose of maximum protection of the whistleblower, who has the status of a protected person under Directive (EU) 2019/1937,” the Ministry of Justice said.